Basic suspended roof construction for industrial furnaces

ABSTRACT

A high-temperature industrial furnace roof construction comprises a plurality of basic refractory brick assembly units depending downwardly from an elongated rod member which is suspended from a suitable frame. Each basic refractory brick assembly unit comprises a basic carrier brick of a generally rectangular configuration with flat, planar faces and having a reduced head portion and body portion. The reduced head portion is provided with a transverse aperture for receiving the elongated rod member and with a substantially planar recess normal to the axis of the aperture, and the body portion is provided with a shoulder means adjacent to the juncture of the body portion and the head portion on opposing faces of the body portion substantially parallel to the axis of the aperture. A basic filler brick of a generally rectangular configuration with flat, planar faces is suspended from the carrier brick by means of a supporting lug on one face of the filler brick which engages the shoulder means on the carrier brick.

United States Patent [191 Merkle, Jr.

[ 1 July 23,1974

[ BASIC SUSPENDED ROOF CONSTRUCTION FOR INDUSTRIAL FURNACES [76]Inventor: Frank P. Merkle, Jr., R.R. 2

Farmington, Long Grove, 111. 60047 [22] Filed: Feb. 28, 1973 [21] Appl.No.: 336,630

Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Alexanderand Speckman [57] ABSTRACT A high-temperature industrial furnace roofconstruction comprises a plurality of basic refractory brick assemblyunits depending downwardly from an elongated rod member which issuspended from a suitable frame. Each basic refractory brick assemblyunit comprises a basic carrier brick of a generally rectangularconfiguration with flat, planar faces and having a reduced head portionand body portion. The reduced head portion is provided with a transverseaperture for receiving the elongated rod member and with a'substantially planar recess normal to the axis of the aperture, and thebody portion is provided with a shoulder means adjacent to the junctureof the body portion and the head portion on opposing faces of the bodyportion substantially parallel to the axis of the aperture. A basicfiller brick of a generally rectangular configuration with flat, planarfaces is suspended from the carrier brick by means of a supporting lugon one face of the filler brick which engages the shoulder means on thecarrier brick.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENIEDmasmH Ef -JEN sum 2 or 2 v /a 22 2426 2a BASIC SUSPENDED ROOF CONSTRUCTION FOR INDUSTRIAL FURNACESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION construction for high temperature industrialfurnaces.

such as reverberatory furnaces because of its cost, refractorycharacteristics and also the ability to withstand chemical attack fromthe furnace atmosphere. It is known to construct a suspended roof usingbasic refractory brick where the suspending means, such as castings,tabs, or pins are embedded in the body of the brick itself; however,during use foreign matter such as dirt, dust, metal concentrates, andthe like accumulates on the refractory roof structure and furtherinsulates the castings from ambient atmosphere, thereby causing thesuspending means to overheat, oxidize, and fail. Frequently as a resultof such failure an otherwise good refractory brick falls into thefurnace and is lost. While acid refractory brick can be formed bypressing into intricate Shapes so as to provide an upwardly extendingrefractory suspending means, basic refractory brick are not as plasticas acid brick and cannot be formed into such shapes. Thus the supportproblem continues to exist.

In some metallurgical furnace designs refractory brickis suspended inpart by means of exposed hangers and inpart by providing substantiallyself-supporting arch where a row of bricks bears against an adjacent rowof bricks. One such design is illustrated by Dobie in US Pat. No.1,738,527. However, with such a design it is difficult to repair theroof structure without completely shutting down the furnace andrebuilding the entire roof or at least a major part thereof. Moreover,the intricate brick configuration utilized in US. Pat. No. 1,738,527cannot be achieved withbasic refractory brick.

An attempt to provide a more readily repairable roof structureis shownin US. Pat. No. 1,793,031 to Trachsel where a series of four identicalrefractory bricks is threaded onto a relatively short rod segment which,in turn, is suspended by hooks received into a small pocket formed inthe upper portion of two adjacent bricks. However, again the heating-upproblem of the hooks and the resultant early failure in use, asinsulating matter accumulates on top of the refractory roof, is presentand is a serious drawback to the commercial utilization of the showndesign.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the foregoingdifficulties and to provide a suspended roof made of basic refractorybricks where overheating of the support means is greatly reduced.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a readilyrepairable suspended roof made of basic refractory bricks.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a suspended roofstructure which requires a substantially reduced number of hangers forsuspension and thus permits ready access for cleaning the structure.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide basic refractorybricks having a novel configuration and which can be readily suspendedto form a roof for a reverberatory furnace without enveloping orencasing a metal hanger means usedto support the basic bricks.

Still other objects of this invention will readily present themselves tothe skilled artisan upon reference to the ensuing specification, thedrawings, and the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a suspendedhigh temperature industrial furnace, such as a metallurigcal furnace,including a support frame, hanger means depending downwardly from saidsupport frame, an elongated rod member supported bythe hanger means in aspaced relationship from said support frame, and a plurality of basicrefractory brick assembly units received on said elongated rod memberand depending downwardly therefrom.

Each basic refractory brick assembly unit comprises a basic refractorycarrier brick of a generally rectangular configuration with flat, planarfaces and having a reduced head portion and a body portion, and at leastone basic refractory filler brick suspended from the carrier brick. Thereduced head portion of the carrier brick is provided with'a transverseaperture and with a substantially planar recess normal to the axis ofsaid aperture. The body portion of the carrier brick is provided with ashoulder means adjacent to the juncture of the body portion and the headportion on opposing faces of the body portion substantially parallel tothe axis of said aperture. The basic refractory filler brick is ofgenerally rectangular configuration with fiat, planar faces. Asupporting lug is provided on one face of the filler brick and engagesthe shoulder means of said carrier brick, therebysuspending the fillerbrick from said carrier brick so that a face of the filler brick abuts aface of the carrier brick.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a suspended roof panel embodyingthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a basic refractory carrier brick of thisinvention;

.FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a basic refractory filler brick of thisinvention;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, taken along line IVIVin FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another basic refractory carrier brickof this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, suspendedroof panel 10 includes support frame 11 suitably supported above furnacewalls, a plurality of hanger means such as hangers 12, 13 and 14,depending downwardly therefrom, elon out from suspension roof panel andreplaced, if desired, without substantially disturbing the remainder ofsuspension roof panel 10. Moreover, if desired, only a few brickassembly units e.g., bricks 16, 17, 18 and 21, 22, 23, can be removedand replaced without disturbing the remainder of the module by merelyremoving hanger 12, sliding the desired assembly units off elongated rod15, replacing the removed assembly units with new ones, and reattachinghanger 12 to elongated rod 15 as before. I

Carrier brick 16 is typical and is shown in FIG. 2. Basic refractorycarrier brick 16 has a generally rectangular configuration with flat,planar facessuch as front face and side face 31. Aperture 33 is providedin reduced head portion 32 and extends transversely across head portion32 normal to the plane of front face 30.

' Reduced head portion 32 is also provided with substantially planarrecesses 34 and 35 which are normal to the axis of aperture 33. Bodyportion 36 is provided with shoulder 37 on side face 31 adjacent to thejuncture of head portion 32 and body portion 36 and, in a similarmanner, with shoulder 38 on the side face opposite to side face 31.Shoulders 37 and 38 are substantially parallel to the axis of aperture33 and serve as suspending supports for filler bricks 18 and 17,respectively, as shown in FIG. 1.

Basic refractory filler brick 17, shown in FIG. 3, has a generallyrectangular configuration with flat, planar faces adapted to abutsimilar faces of surrounding carrier or filler bricks. Side face 39 offiller brick 17 is provided with supporting lug 40, underside 41 ofwhich engages shoulder 38 of carrier brick 16 (FIG. 1) and thus suspendsfiller brick 17 from carrier brick 16 so that side face 39 abuts therespective side face of carrier brick, 16 and so that head portion 32projects above suspended filler brick 17. In order to provide maximumlife of the basic refractory brick assembly unit under operatingconditions, it is important to locate supporting lug at the upper end ofplanar face 39.

As canbe seen in FIG. 4, complementary planar recesses 35 and 42 of therespective head portions of adjacentcarrie'r bricks 16 and 21 projectingabove the adjacent, suspended filler bricks 18 and 22 on one side andsuspended filler bricks 17 and 23 on the opposite side def ne a groovewithin which hanger 12 is readily received and yet remains exposed toair circulation while permitting a considerable buildup of foreignmaterial on the roof so that overheating and the likelihood of prematurefailure is greatly reduced. Similarly, complementary planar recesses 43and 44 of the respective head portions of adjacent carrier bricks 27 and29 define a groove for hanger 13. Alternatively, a single relativelydeeper planar recess can be provided in a carrier brick on only one sideof the head portion as shown in FIG. 5 where carrierv brick 45 isprovided with single planar recess 46 in reduced head portion 47.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention a substantially planarrecess is provided on one opposing face of the upwardly projecting,reduced head portion so s to define a groove between each pair ofadjacent carrier bricks and to facilitate air circulation therebetween.In this manner basic brick manufacture is greatly simplified, hangerscan be placed at any desired spacing on the elongated rod member andstill be adequately cooled, and the elongated rod member itself iscooled by the circulating air currents.

Lil

made up of a plurality of panels 10, can be flat or it can i becontoured in any desired manner to achieve a specific heat distributionwithin the furnace by merely shortening or lengthening some of thehangers and/or situating some of the panels higher or lower than others.The individual basic refractory brick assembly units depend downwardlyfrom the supporting elon gated rod member and do not interlock with eachother, thus the ready removability of a module or part thereof from theroof for replacement or repair is not compromised regardless of theparticular roof contour that is employed in any given instance.Similarly, an entire panel, comprising a plurality of brick assemblyunits, can be removed and replaced without disturbing adjacent panels.

The elongated rod member used to support the individual basic refractorybrick assembly units, as well as the hangers utilized to support theelongated rod member, can be made of any metal capable of withstandingthe temperatures encountered during normal operation. Preferably, theelongated rod member is made of stainless steel and is supported bypreformed hangers made of carbon steel or alloy steel. Joints betweenindividual brick assembly units need not be sealed. However an expansionmaterial, such as corrugated metal expanders, or the like, is usuallyinserted between assembly units so as to build in sufficient expansioninto a cold basic suspended roof.

Basic refractory brick suitable for the purposes of the presentinvention are composed of magnesia and chrome ores in varyingproportions. A typical composition' of chemically bonded basicrefractory brick is about to weight-percent magnesia and about 40 to 30weight-percent chrome ores. A typical composition of direct bonded basicrefractory brick is about 50 to 60 weight-percent magnesia and. about 50to 40 weight-percent chrome ores.

While in the foregoing specification this invention has been describedin relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many detailshave been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additionalembodiments and that certain of the details described herein can bevaried considerably without departing from the basic principles of theinvention.

I claim:

l. Suspended roof construction for a high temperature furnace includinga support frame, hanger means depending downwardly from said supportframe, an elongated rod member supported by said hanger means in aspaced relationship from said support frame, and a plurality of basicrefractory brick assembly units received on said elongated rod memberand depending downwardly from said elongated rod member, each basicrefractory brick assembly unit comprising a basic refractory carrierbrick of a generally rectangular configuration with flat, planar facesand having a reduced head portion and a body portion; said reduced headportion being provided with a transverse aperture and with asubstantially planar recess normal to the axis of said aperture, andsaid body portion being provided with shoulder means adjacent'to thejuncture of the body portion and the head portion of opposing faces ofthe body por- I opposing faces of the reduced head portion.

3. The suspended roof construction of claim 1 wherein the reduced headportion of said basic refractory carrier brick is provided with asubstantially planar recess normal to the axis of said aperture on eachof two opposing faces of the reduced head portion.

4. The suspended roof construction of claim 1 wherein a basic refractoryfiller brick is suspended from each shoulder means of said basicrefractory carrier brick and the flat, planar faces opposite the facehaving said supporting lug abuts the similar face of an adjacentassembly unit.

1. Suspended roof construction for a high temperature furnace includinga support frame, hanger means depending downwardly from said supportframe, an elongated rod member supported by said hanger means in aspaced relationship from said support frame, and a plurality of basicrefractory brick assembly units received on said elongated rod memberand depending downwardly from said elongated rod member, each basicrefractory brick assembly unit comprising a basic refractory carrierbrick of a generally rectangular configuration with flat, planar facesand having a reduced head portion and a body portion; said reduced headportion being provided with a transverse aperture and with asubstantially planar recess normal to the axis of said aperture, andsaid body portion being provided with shoulder means adjacent to thejuncture of the body portion and the head portion of opposing faces ofthe body portion substantially parallel to the axis of said aperture;and at least one basic refractory filler brick of a generallyrectangular configuration with flat, planar faces and having asupporting lug on one face thereof, said supporting lug engaging one ofsaid shoulder means and suspending said filler brick from said carrierbrick.
 2. The suspended roof construction of claim 1 wherein the reducedhead portion of said basic refractory carrier brick is provided with asubstantially planar recess normal to the axis of said aperture on oneof two opposing faces of the reduced head portion.
 3. The suspended roofconstruction of claim 1 wherein the reduced head portion of said basicrefractory carrier brick is provided with a substantially planar recessnormal to the axis of said aperture on each of two opposing faces of thereduced head portion.
 4. The suspended roof construction of claim 1wherein a basic refractory filler brick is suspended from each shouldermeans of said basic refractory carrier brick and the flat, planar facesopposite the face having said supporting lug abuts the similar face ofan adjacent assembly unit.